Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Honda VT1300-based Concept Cruisers

In the spring of 2010 Honda released a trio of new cruisers called the Sabre, Interstate and Stateline, making up the heart of the VT1300 line of cruisers.

The custom-type cruiser models share the same powertrain platform of a 1312cc, liquid-cooled, SOHC, 3-valve-per-cylinder, single-pin crank, 52-degree V-Twin – the same Twin design found in the wildly successful Fury – which has been a core platform in Honda’s arsenal for some time now.

However, each of the three new VTs received a specific design directive, thereby creating three separate models.

The VT1300 Sabre, with its long, low and unencumbered look accented by a chopper-ish 21-inch front wheel, is what Honda considers the “pro-street” VT. The VT1300 Stateline retains the Sabre’s flowing lines, but it sports a chubbier 17-inch front tire; it’s essentially a stripped version of the VT1300 Interstate that wears a windshield, soft saddlebags and roomy floorboards rather than footpegs, as standard touring equipment.

If you’d asked us before this year’s Long Beach, Calif., stop of the 2010/11 IMS whether custom-type bikes were still a strong part of the cruiser segment, we’d have guessed no, not so much. Honda thinks differently.

Starting with bone-stock models of the already-edgy-for-Honda Fury, joined by a Sabre and Stateline, Honda gave three of its designers from Honda Research & Development Americas located in Southern California, an opportunity to build customs based on where their visions would take each machine.

The designers were given free reign within a limited budget and two stipulations: that each bike remains a full-on runner and stays true to the core of the production vehicle. The designers had a scant three months to accomplish their reimagining of the VTs.

The Furious, based on the Fury, is the chopper; the Switchblade pro-dragger was morphed from the Sabre, and the Slammer is a low-lying bagger born from the Stateline. The concept models debuted at the December 17th, 2010 International Motorcycle in Long Beach, Calif., and will stay on as part of the Honda display for the remainder of the IMS 2011 show dates.

Based on a 2010 Stateline, designer Erik Dunshee (Honda R&D Americas) sees the Slammer bagger as an ultra-low interpretation of the genre. The Slammer sports fully adjustable air-ride suspension, NAV/Multimedia, 10-inch subwoofer and 500 watts of music-pumping power. With a full front-end conversion, including a lean 23-inch custom wheel, the designer achieved all this without frame or engine modification.

Taking the 2010 Sabre as a starting point, designer Edward Birtulescu conceived the Switchblade. Racing-inspired styling cues come from Formula1 and MotoGP according to Honda. The ‘Blade sports full carbon fiber bodywork, an Ohlins front-end, a single-sided swing arm with a 535 chain conversion from the VT1300’s standard shaft final drive and dual Brembo calipers, as indicators of the concept bike’s race bike-influenced design.

Nick Renner remolded a 2010 Fury into the Furious, a design exercise Honda says is a blend of new and old school flavor. Pounding the street with a 23-inch wheel up front and a 20-incher for the rear, the Furious concept strikes a stretched, no-b.s. pose. A 45-degree rake makes for a long looking front joined by a converted hard tail that says simply: chopper. Metal-flake, variegated leafing, and diamond-stitched seat contrast with the five-spoke hoops and Fury tank. An instant neo-classic, says Honda materials.